


the first noel

by impossiblepluto



Series: have yourself a fluffy, whumpy christmas [14]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Pre-Series, army days
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21783550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/impossiblepluto/pseuds/impossiblepluto
Summary: The first Christmas in the sandbox.
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016)
Series: have yourself a fluffy, whumpy christmas [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552330
Comments: 13
Kudos: 76





	the first noel

_The First Christmas  
... Well, not the first, first Christmas… _

Mac fishes through his pockets for something to keep his fingers busy while he waits in the Humvee for Jack. They flit nervously against his desert BDUs, until finally finding a piece of wire that his long fingers begin twisting and turning.

Busy hands to help clear his mind. Twisting wire to untwist his brain.

They'd finished breakfast in the mess hall and gearing up, nearly ready to roll out when Jack had been summoned back to the command tent. Just Jack. He'd meet Mac in the Humvee. It is far from the first time this had happened.

Jack often seems to have more information than the average grunt.

Mac knows better than to ask, but he has his suspicions that Sargent Jack Dalton is _important_. But that doesn’t make sense either, because if he is so important why would they waste him on a long term Overwatch mission.

An Overwatch for one slow bomb nerd. Surely, his skills could be better utilized elsewhere. Not that Mac is complaining. With Jack at his six, Mac has never felt safer. 

That isn't what is worrying him today though.

He glances over at Jack's seat at the package wrapped in brown paper. The package he'd set there when he got into the vehicle. He hadn't known quite what to do with it. Hand it to Jack directly? Leave it on his bunk?

Bozer is better at things like friends and family and gift-giving. 

Bozer is the reason he is in this position in the first place. His best friend sent a Christmas gift for his Overwatch. It's not even the first package Bozer's sent since Jack decided to re-up and stick around to watch Mac's back.

It’s a little embarrassing, how excited, how grateful Bozer is that Jack stayed. Was a fan of Jack’s before Mac was. 

Care packages are one thing. Care packages are shared with everyone. Letters read aloud in the barracks. Cookies passed between bunks. Photographs of family and home. Mac knows the whole Dalton family history, could identify most of the cousins on Jack’s father’s side. Has eaten his weight in Aunt Jill’s cookies.

Christmas gifts are a different story.

Aren’t they?

It’s his first Christmas in country. It never crossed his mind that maybe he should try to figure out some sort of gift for Jack. Hasn’t heard anyone else in the barracks talking about exchanging gifts. His Overwatch certainly hasn’t said anything.

But Jack is better at things like friends and family too. Maybe it hadn’t occurred to him that he’d have to bring up something like gifts for Christmas. 

He certainly owes Jack a gift. 

Jack should be at home, working with his granddad trying to get the old tractor working, that despite years of elbow grease, never quite loses that sputtering cough. Baking cookies with his MeeMaw and getting his hand smacked for snitching some fresh from the oven. Cutting down a Christmas tree, the scent of fresh pine mingling with oranges and cloves and cinnamon and peppermint.

A house full of chattering relatives, a cozy fire, soft Christmas carols playing in the background. 

While Mac doesn’t have many memories of Christmas traditions like that, unless Bozer invited him over, he’s heard enough reminiscing of homesick soldiers, and seen just enough of sappy Christmas movies to know that people get sentimental about Christmas. 

He knows Jack gets sentimental about Christmas. 

Mac twists the wire forcefully, glaring at the package.

He'd thought about just not giving Jack the gift. But Bozer will ask, and feel bad if Jack doesn't acknowledge the gift in any way, and Mac could never lie to his friend. Bozer sees through his lies in an instant. It's a good thing Mac doesn't have to lie to Bozer on the regular, and that his friend recognizes that some aspects of his job are classified for safety and national security.

And when Jack inevitably finds out, and he will because for some reason despite knowing each other only six months, Jack knows all of his tells, Mac is worried that Jack would be upset. 

Not about the gift but that Mac let his friend think that Jack is impolite. Despite punching Mac in the face the day they met, and a few stories that aren’t polite for mixed company, Jack’s mama raised a gentleman, who says please and writes thank you notes. 

Mac is still debating how to handle the gift when the door to the Humvee opens. “Alright, slick, ready to roll…” his voice trails off and he quirks an eyebrow at Mac when he notices the package resting on his seat.

"It's not a bomb, is it?"

“It's from Bozer. Merry Christmas."

Jack can't help the smile of delight that crosses his face. "You gonna make me wait til Christmas?"

Mac shrugs. "Not if you don't want to."

Jack is already tearing into the paper with a gleeful chuckle, finding hard candy and gum. 

“Foil wrappers,” Jack says, checking out the goodies and slapping Mac on the shoulder. “Your boy knows you well.” 

He continues rifling through the box, home baked cookie crumbs, which look like they were gingerbread men when they first started their journey; small packages of hot sauce, and powdered beverages, lip balm, and like every package he's received from Bozer before this, socks.

Jack laughs.

"Not that I'm not grateful, because I'm getting more care packages from him than I am my sister these days, but what's with this kid and socks? I've gotten like two dozen pairs from him in the last three months. And I know he's always sending you some too."

Mac smiles. "His semester project at film school was a documentary on World War I, where he spent way too much time learning about trench foot."

Jack, knowing his history, particularly military history, shudders. "Yeah, that would do it."

“We could hang them up like stockings and wait for Santa to come and fill them.”

Jack smirks. “Santa?”

"What?" Mac raises an eyebrow. “The guy who believes in aliens, ghosts, vampires, the tooth fairy, and that Paul is dead, doesn’t believe in Santa?”

“Some of us are blessed to be able to tell the truth from fiction. Don’t tell me you believe in Santa?”

Mac shrugs. 

“One guy, in a sled, visiting every house in the world in one night?”

“Not everyone celebrates Christmas. And maybe there’s some sort of space time compression that happens once he’s in the sleigh and he can go faster than the speed of light?”

“You think some fat guy in a red suit has a hyperdrive?” Jack sputters.

Mac’s lip twitch. “Could be a flux capacitor?”

“Nah, you ain’t trickin’ me with your handwavy science.”

“Or just a Christmas miracle.”

“Well, he better not try to drop down any chimneys in Texas, that’s all I’m saying. Most folks there believe in the stand your ground law. Ol’ St. Nick wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Mac hums. “He’s probably immortal.” 

Jack turns, eyes huge. “You think he’s a zombie?”

“I didn’t say undead.” 

“That would explain a lot.”

“No, Jack, you’re right. Santa probably doesn’t really exist.”

“Do you think the reindeer are zombies too?”

Mac just shakes his head. 

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little fluff, but join us again tomorrow for some Army days whump...


End file.
